Icon Creative Design's Blog

Job Vacancy

iconcreativedesign — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:48:52 +0000

If creativity runs through your veins and good, inspirational design makes you feel happy then this unique opportunity to join our team in a well established, forward thinking, creative company may be right up your street.

We are looking to appoint a graduate or junior designer, educated to degree level in Graphic Design or similar qualification and be able to demonstrate a passion for your chosen career. You will also be a great problem solver, have exceptional typographic skills and an ability to think strategically. You will also have an extensive knowledge of Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and Acrobat. Knowledge of HTML and Flash very desirable.

The role requires that you have:

• The ability to produce high quality work under pressure

• The ability to see the bigger picture, whilst looking after the details

• The ability to adapt and learn new technologies

• Possess a recognised creative qualification

Please send your CV and 4 examples of your work to cv@iconcreativedesign.com or by post to ICON CREATIVE DESIGN, The Chapel, 91 Caerphilly Road, Bassaleg, Newport, NP10 8LJ

Spotted! Our Janome window display

iconcreativedesign — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:19:30 +0000

It’s great to see our work when we’re out and about, especially when it’s least expected. A highlight of Androulla’s very rainy rugby tour weekend in Weymouth was spotting our recently completed graphics for Janome, which included window stickers and point of sales stands. Keep a lookout in your local town!

Welsh Varsity 2013

iconcreativedesign — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:39:34 +0000

Last night Icon enjoyed a fabulous night at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff to watch the Welsh Varsity rugby match finale 2013. Once again it was great to see our identity featured across various merchandise, including programmes and t-shirts as well as on the big screens. The stadium was a sea of red and green as thousands of students descended upon the stadium to support their team.

We were pleased to witness Swansea’s magnificent second-half comeback, resulting in them triumphantly beating Cardiff 21-13. A great night was had by all and we look forward to next year’s match!

To view the match online click here.

#makingwaves at UCAS

iconcreativedesign — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:38:28 +0000

This morning, Icon ventured down to Wales’ main UCAS convention at UWIC, Cardiff to see the #makingwaves campaign in full swing. As we’d hoped, Swansea’s stand was constantly packed with students picking up prospectuses and chatting to staff. The eye-catching GEEK bags proved a huge success as the hall gradually became a sea of lime green, not to mention the Swansea University sweets were a huge hit – after all, what student doesn’t love a freebie?!

To read more about the campaign click here.

Specific about saving energy

iconcreativedesign — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:11:13 +0000

Everyday we get enough energy from the sun to power our planet for 27 years. Specific, a leading research group led by Swansea University and Tata Steel, aim to turn buildings into power stations by capturing solar energy and regenerating this energy as power. Icon created the brand identity for Specific, successive work has included large scale graphics, exhibition walls and a series of information panels.

Our most recent project for Specific was vehicle livery design for their environmentally-friendly Kangoo Van, which is the most economical in the market sector.

Wishlist Wednesday: Caribou Coffee Cups

iconcreativedesign — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 08:32:46 +0000

3000 miles is a long, long way to travel for a cup of coffee. But when the branding is as lovely/ inspirational/charming as this, it almost seems like a plausible reason to make the journey across the pond.

For 2013, Caribou Coffee have refocused, revamped and evolved their brand presence. The campaign, created by Minneapolis Agency Colle+McVoy includes a television spots, in-store posters, 3D billboards and packaging branding all featuring inspirational quotes and phrases. These “life-isms” encourage consumers to think of coffee as more than just a daily routine, but a wholesome experience which fuels their passions and ways of thinking.

We love how a routine cup of coffee is suddenly transformed into a “meaningful” activity, you are almost seized from everyday normality and reminded to appreciate and live life to the full. Which supports their longstanding tagline “Life is short. Stay awake for it.”

There is nothing better than a wonderfully optimistic and meaningful brand vision except one where the design is executed so beautifully. If you happen to visit a Caribou Coffee please bring us back a coffee cup, we don’t care if its empty.

#Makingwaves at Swansea University

iconcreativedesign — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:18:25 +0000

We are excited to unveil the 2013-14 twitter-integrated campaign for Swansea University, #Makingwaves. Using the power of social media, the campaign effectively targets prospective and
current students, encouraging them to interact with the university online.

Stunning photography of students in open top cars and sunlit pebbled beaches truly accentuates the impressive natural beauty of Swansea, which few universities are lucky enough to be blessed with. We then developed confident strap lines “Where bright futures begin”, “Original thinkers welcome” and “Great minds don’t think alike” to complement the imagery, with a fresh colour palette of lime green and blue giving the overall design an invigorating boost.

This has been implemented nationally across a huge variety of locations, from the London Underground to large-scale high-street billboards, and of course the printed prospectus (which can be viewed here). To accompany the campaign we have produced custom-made sweets and eco-friendly bags for distribution at fairs and events.

We have thoroughly enjoyed working on this campaign and look forward to seeing the results – will you be #makingwaves this spring?

Wishlist Wednesday: Edible Wallpaper (almost)

iconcreativedesign — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:22:38 +0000

We’re quite literally drooling over these super-sweet, photorealistic candy themed wallpapers from Amsterdam website KEK. Reminiscent of the lickable wallpaper in Charlie and Chocolate Factory, these prints are guaranteed to make you want to reach for a sneaky sweet treat. Our favourite is the rocket lolly, what’s yours?

Wishlist Wednesday: Where Chefs Eat

iconcreativedesign — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:04:38 +0000

“I want that!” is a phrase you’ll hear in the Icon studio quite frequently, whether it’s an amazing poster design, a beautifully foil blocked book or an intricately iced cake, there’s always something we’d quite like to say is ours. Hereby we’d like to introduce to you Icon’s Weekly Wednesday Wishlist, which will contain one (perhaps more) of these highly coveted items that have caught our eye over the past week.

This week we’re lusting after ‘Where Chefs Eat’. Designed by Kobe Benezri, this is a design masterpiece showcasing all the best places to eat around the world. Custom typography and hand-drawn maps drawn specifically for the project make this a truly original piece of work. Benezri turns what could be a mundane subject into a work of art; to read more about the project click here. It can be purchased at Phaidon.

The award for the best poster…

iconcreativedesign — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:53:38 +0000

…we’ve seen this year goes to (long pause) Olly Moss! Collaborating with LA based studio Gallery88, Moss was commissioned to create this fantastic portrayal of the past 85 Oscar-winning films, which vary from the groundbreaking Godfather to the timeless Gone with the Wind. Meticulously re-drawing each statue as a character from the film, Moss completed the poster in just three weeks working long 16 hour days in order to get the job done.

The representation of each film is incredible (some of our favourites being American Beauty and Titanic); it also provided a brilliant new trivia game for us at the studio. To see the statues close up click here, and if you need a bit of help or clarification on any statue, the list of 85 winners can be found here.